Aerothorn on 3/5/2011 at 02:43
Fast forward to the present: my rough draft was completed in January and after a couple of revisions it's just about done. Problem is, I still don't have a great title.
The working title is Choices: A History of Storytelling in Single-Player Video Games. The stuff after the colon will probably get shorter once I leave academia, but it's what's before it that concerns me. Choices is fine, fits the thesis, is slightly provocative, but isn't very catchy or imaginative. Gimme something better.
To avoid lazy crowdsourcing, if I use your replacement title I'll send you $10 on PayPal :)
Tonamel on 3/5/2011 at 04:02
The only title that's sticking in my mind is "You are standing in front of a white house", though that might not make sense if you don't cover Zork.
june gloom on 3/5/2011 at 04:08
You could go the pretentious douchebag route and just title it "> _"- going one step further from Ton's suggestion.
Koki on 3/5/2011 at 08:02
Quote Posted by Aerothorn
Choices is fine, fits the thesis, is slightly provocative, but isn't very catchy or imaginative.
Neither is your thesis most likely, so why bother?
june gloom on 3/5/2011 at 08:10
oh koki don't you have some child porn you got off 12chan to beat off to
Sulphur on 3/5/2011 at 08:56
Pretentious: 'You are in a maze of twisty passages'
Less pretentious: 'Replaying for Keeps'
Really goddamn pretentious: 'Out from the Dragon's Lair and into the Rain'
I don't envy you for having to make this choice.
Thirith on 3/5/2011 at 09:10
How about "Choose Your Own Adventure" plus subtitle, referring to those books? Or alternatively, "You Are Likely To Be Eaten By A Grue". :p
june gloom on 3/5/2011 at 09:20
Adventure/Zork seems to be a running theme with these suggestions- you may want to roll with "It Is Very Dark." Short, simple, and eminently recognizable while at the same time avoiding referring to anything so explicitly as 'grue' does.
Actually, thinking about it, "A Maze of Twisty Passages" works on multiple levels- as a reference to the roots of gaming, to the literal twisty passages of a million games, to legitimately twisty plots...
Thirith on 3/5/2011 at 09:36
Quote Posted by dethtoll
Actually, thinking about it, "A Maze of Twisty Passages" works on multiple levels- as a reference to the roots of gaming, to the literal twisty passages of a million games, to legitimately twisty plots...
I'll second that, especially in its shortened form. It's literate, elegant and clever. If you don't go for that one, Aerothorn, I may just have to come and nail your thumbs to your writing desk. :ebil:
addink on 3/5/2011 at 09:57
Best I came up with:
[indent]"Settling Paths: A History of Storytelling in Single-Player Video Games"[/indent]
Works multiple angles: addresses 'how the history turned out', 'picking a path through a narrative' and 'designing the paths for a narrative'.
Other alternatives for 'Choices': "Paths", "Options", "Branches", "Freedom". Perhaps add something to note the limits of choices within the medium, such as "Arranged" or "Set", so you get stuff like: "Set Choices" or "Arranged Freedom"
Or mix it up: "Paths of Freedom" "Branching Freedom"
